Legendary Minutemen bassist Mike Watt this May will publish a new book called ‘On and Off Bass’ that combines his 2000s-era tour diaries with his nature photography, and he’ll launch the memoir with a pair of release parties — including a New York show that’ll find him jamming with Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis and Murph.

fIREHOSE — the band formed by Mike Watt and George Hurley following the 1985 death of their Minutemen bandmate D. Boon — will precede its spring tour and Coachella appearances with “lowFLOWs” the Columbia Anthology (’91-’93), a new 2CD set that compiles the band’s major-label output plus four unreleased cuts.

The newly expanded two-weekend Coachella festival announced its 2012 lineup this afternoon, with headliners The Black Keys, Radiohead and Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg joined by Pulp, Buzzcocks, Squeeze, Madness and a reunion of fIREHOSE, the Mike Watt’s and George Hurley’s post-Minutemen act.

This week’s Slicing Up Eyeballs headlines included items on Echo & The Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch, New Order, R.E.M., PiL, The Housemartins, Bob Mould, Sinead O’Connor, Peter Gabriel and the Minutemen, plus the third installment of our Rhino ‘Just Can’t Get Enough — The ’80s’ Spotify playlist.

If you’ve haven’t seen director Tim Irwin’s 2005 documentary ‘We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen,’ now’s your chance — the full 90-minute film has made its way onto YouTube. The film features interviews with surviving members Mike Watt and George Hurley.

The four-track ‘Minuteflag’ EP was recorded 25 years ago this week as a one-off jam by the members of Black Flag and the Minutemen, but not released until a year later following the death of the latter band’s D. Boon.

  Mike Watt himself will be on hand to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Minutemen’s classic Double Nickels on the Dime double album […]